Have no fear, I am actually alive…just busy as usual.  Just before Easter weekend, I had the fortune to be in Boston for some training and used that opportunity to stay on the East coast for the holiday to visit my family.  I got to meet my new nephews, who are awesome, and spend time with my sister and her kids.  The best part of the weekend was Easter.  My sister had the great idea of only telling our mother that there would be a “mystery guest” present at Easter dinner and I did not reveal that I had even left Seattle.

To further the illusion, I signed on Instant Messenger at my sister’s house on Saturday and put up an away message that I was playing soccer, which is what I typically do on the weekends when I’m home.  Finally, to complete the illusion, I utilized an instant messaging client for my phone (Octro) while we were on the road to Easter dinner and started chatting with my mother.  At the same time, my sister called to let her know that we were on the road and had been for quite a while.  The deception was complete - my mother assumed I was home in Seattle, but I’m sure she had an inkling her techno-geek son might have had some way of being tricky.

After arriving at our destination, I slinked down in the back of the car and waited a few minutes for the onlookers at the window to stop trying to see if somebody was going to get out of the car.  After waiting a short time more, I climbed out the opposite side of the car, then dashed along the woods and the side of the house up to the side door.  Eager to see my family, I burst in through the door with a giant grin on my face while my mother gave a cry of shock and surprise.  We gave each other a giant hug and I was able to sit down and eat Easter dinner with my family all the way across the country.

I’ll post some pictures soon - it was a great day! I’m back in Seattle now, but busy as usual.  I’ve got some work stuff I’m focusing on as well as a dance competition coming up in San Francisco shortly that I’m preparing for.  It’s been a busy month!